Return to Me
by Ashton Li
Summary: After junior high, Echizen Ryoma moved back to America. Now all Fuji Syusuke can do is wonder if the younger boy will ever return back to Japan. Will he ever return to him?


**NOTE:**** Thank you for stopping by. This fic is in Fuji Syusuke's POV. I do not own these characters or the Prince of Tennis. Please enjoy and happy reading~**

**Return to Me**

Rain. The sound of it always brings me back to that day so many years ago. We were nothing but children back then. Now, those days of junior high are over. Sometimes I wish to go back to that time. Then again, I wouldn't mind just being able to see him again. Maybe as I grew up, I've become childish and never matured. I want to go back to those nice times in junior high so I wouldn't have to leave him behind. He's made his mistakes and so have I. If I asked him to, would he return to me?

"Ha!" I gasped as my racket made contact with the small tennis ball that flew towards me. This sport, tennis, I only continued to play in hopes that it would one day reconnect me with that one person I had lost. If I pushed myself, I would find him. At least, this is what I believed. He who I longed to see again is far from my reach. Echizen Ryoma; this person left without ever having a reason to return to Japan. I'm living in some sort of pathetic fantasy world. If just one last time...I would like for him to return to me.

What am I saying? He was never mine to begin with. Echizen Ryoma is making his way to the top of the tennis world while I'm pretending to even have the slightest interest in this game anymore. I've been tossing balls as if it's something I care to still play. No; I'm just doing this in hopes that it will let our paths cross. After junior high, he left for America once again. He was going to be big; he already is. I sometimes question what I'm even doing. Isn't this all just futile? He will not return to me.

"Fuji-san, good work today. Lets have another good round next time."  
These are words I hear every day. They've become rather meaningless. Maybe if they were to come from someone like him, someone who is genuinely strong, I'd believe them still. I've become weak. I still can't believe I'm even doing these things. All my hopes and dreams, they revolve around him. Maybe I believe that I should be the one to return to him.

I'm the one who was once called a genius when it comes to tennis. Though, I no longer deserve such a title. I am now just a fan of this sport...but this is only for him. One day, I wish to see the sweat drip down his cheeks as he wins his match as a professional tennis player. Am I just dreaming? Will he ever return to Japan so I can see him once more?

Training. Practice. Keep playing. I have to. This is my last chance, and I'm willing to risk everything for this final hope of seeing him. My grip grew tighter around my racket as I heard girls from afar calling his name. I continued to focus on nothing besides the tennis ball that flew towards my face. Back and forth it went; a rally. Without noticing, I found my vision wandering to the left. The ball hit my side of the court, but I couldn't react with him standing there. He had finally returned.

"Mada mada dane," his lips moaned as he reached for the tennis ball that had rolled to his feet. I carefully watched as he picked the ball up in his hand and tossed it up and down. My body began to shake as he came closer and closer to me. "Fuji-senpai."  
"Echizen," my voice cracked. "It's been awhile."  
Echizen took a few more steps forward and stared up at me with his golden eyes. "You don't play like you used to. If you don't have a love for something anymore, you shouldn't waste your time with it."  
My mind drew a blank as I stood there in front of him. I couldn't get myself to say a word; I knew he was right. I've been wasting so much time playing tennis in hopes that this day would come. Now that it's here, I just feel pathetic and almost stupid.  
"Lets play a bit, senpai. We never did finish that match because of the rain," Echizen flung the tennis ball at me and grabbed for his racket from his large bag. "I want to see if the passion is still there."  
I only nodded in agreement. The person I was playing against kindly left the court as Echizen stood there waiting for me to serve. This was it. This ball I was to serve had to return to me. This match was something I just felt the need to win.

The match went on and on. Our score continued to stay tied. It felt like a never ending battle that neither of us could win. Then, there it was, the slightest opening I needed to get match point. As the ball came towards me, I gently tapped my tennis racket against. I saw Ryoma sprinting to it, but there was nothing he could do. Right as the ball hit the ground, it barely bounced back up before rolling against the court. It was a long game, but I had somehow managed to beat this younger boy.

"That was a good match. Fuji-senpai," there was a slight irritated sound in his voice. "I can tell you still have a love for tennis."  
"No..." I shook my head and bent down to let our eyes meet. "I lost my love for tennis, but, you see..." I bit my lower lip and grabbed for his shoulders. "I just never lost my love for you."  
With a slight red tint to his face, Echizen turned away. "Ma-mada mada dane!"  
This shyness he was showing made me realize that deep down, he too might share these feelings.  
"Echizen?"  
"You could have just told me. If you would have said something...I could have come back more often..." he wobbled a bit closer before pressing his lips against my cheek. "I would have returned to you."  
In the end, I was just being immature. I should have known from the beginning that I would have been better off if I had just said something to him before he ran off to America. It might have taken longer than I had hoped for, but I was happy that he was here. Echizen Ryoma had finally returned to me.

**NOTE:**** Thank you for reading this quick fic. It's the first of many "Pixi fics" I'll be writing. Pixi fics are fics that I completely write using my cell phone (which is a Palm Pixi) and only edit using the computer. Oh, and I'm writing this note using my computer because it's easier. D: Anyways, it was a bit odd writing in first person, so I hope I did an okay job. I really enjoyed writing this fic, but I know it could have turned out a lot better. I hope you liked this fic, and I'll try to put out some more soon. Thank you, again, for reading.  
Also, I'd like to apologize if this fic looks a bit odd compared to my other ones. For some reason, when I uploaded it, it didn't get formatted like it normally does. Sorry.**


End file.
